Ukraine war map shows Zelensky’s troops regain ground near Kharkiv

Ukraine has retaken positions north of the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, according to a new assessment, as Russia plugs away with advances along the eastern front lines in the war-torn country.

Ukrainian fighters “recently regained positions near and in Hlyboke,” a settlement close to the Russian border and northeast of Kharkiv City, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S.-based think tank, said Tuesday.

In early May, Moscow launched a cross-border offensive into the northeastern Kharkiv region, quickly gaining a handful of villages across the border, including north of Kharkiv City. Clashes have also occurred around the border city of Vovchansk and Starytsya, a settlement just southwest of Vovchansk.

Moscow quickly seized control of several settlements, and Ukrainian officials warned that its enemy hoped to divide Kyiv’s scarce resources, pulling soldiers and equipment from other parts of the front line. Ukraine said shortly after the offensive began that it had stemmed Russia’s advances while reporting intensified pushes from Moscow in the east of the country.

Ukraine’s military did not mention Hlyboke in an operational update published early on Wednesday. But it said fighting was “intense in the areas of the settlements of Vovchansk, Starytsya and Lyptsi. Lyptsi is directly south of Hlyboke.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that its forces had attacked several Ukrainian brigades around Vovchansk, Hlyboke and Lyptsi over the past day.

The Center for Defense Strategies, a Ukrainian think tank, said on Tuesday that Kyiv’s forces had counterattacked near Hlyboke, with Russian troops attacking close to the settlement. “Heavy fighting” is ongoing in Vovchansk’s urban areas, the think tank said.

Deep State, a popular Ukrainian war-tracker blog, said over the past weekend that Ukrainian troops had repelled Russian attacks around Hlyboke.

Further south, the ISW think tank said on Tuesday that Moscow had “marginally advanced” southeast of Chasiv Yar, a key strategic settlement that Russia has long hoped to capture. It sits west of the Russian-controlled city of Bakhmut, which is in the Donetsk region. Moscow claimed control of the city in May 2023.

President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s military said on Wednesday it had “stopped” 12 Russian attacks around Chasiv Yar and neighboring villages over the past day. Moscow also attacked near the Donetsk city of Toretsk, southwest of Bakhmut, and east of the strategic Donetsk city of Pokrovsk.

Kyiv has frequently reported fierce fighting along the front lines snaking east of Toretsk and Pokrovsk, which is west of the city of Avdiivka. Russia seized control of Avdiivka this past February.

Moscow said on Wednesday that its forces had “improved” their positions around Chasiv Yar, taking out up to 600 Ukrainian fighters along this section of the front line. Russian troops also targeted Ukrainian forces around Toretsk, Moscow said, adding that it had “repelled” five Ukrainian counterattacks in the area.